Dancing Before Royalty
Even after her career change, Judy´s legacy as a crime solver still stayed strong. Lots of mammals still remembered all the cases she solved and the criminals she stopped. Her reputation wasn´t going anywhere. Around the time she became a dancer, Judy stopped a major heist at the palace of the wealthy sheik of Sahara Square. The caracal was very grateful to her for that, and always valued her both as a hero and a talented professional belly dancer. He told everything about that to his big influential friends too. One of these was Rajah, the mighty tiger sultan who lived at a distant desert kingdom outside Zootopia. He was good friends with the caracal, and always loved hearing stories about everything happening in the city. Judy interested the tiger a lot, and he respected everything that he heard about her. Eventually, the monarch decided to invite Judy and her husband Nick to a dinner party with him and the sheik. Having never been to a party with crowned heads, the rabbit was excited. She also promised to perform before Rajah too. After a short boat trip from the harbor, Judy and Nick had arrived at the capital of the kingdom. It was located both near the sea and the big desert outside the city. The place looked just like Sahara Square, except even older and more lavish. Its citizens consisted mostly of exotic mammals, from antelopes to fennecs and jungle cats. “This place is beautiful. No wonder the sheik himself praised it”, Judy looked around the bazaars. “I read somewhere that some of Sahara Square´s inhabitants moved there from here too”, Nick explained as he followed his wife. At the top of a large hill, they came across the sultan´s palace, which was gigantic, even larger than their caracal friend´s palace. The couple could see that the building had been there for centuries. After climbing up the marble stairs, Nick and Judy came across the monarch himself. He was a very handsome and muscular tiger in regal white robes and a bejeweled turban. He hand rings on his paw too. The sheik of Sahara Square was with him too already. “Ah, you must be Mrs. Hopps. Pleased to meet you at last”, Rajah went to greet her and Nick. “The pleasure is all mine, Your Majesty. I´m honored to visit such a beautiful city”, Judy admired the garden around them. “I´ve heard so much about you. You seem to be quite the star and hero in your home city. Such a beautiful rabbit you are too. You´re a lucky man, Mr. Hopps”, Rajah told the fox. “There is no other female mammal like her in the world. We´ve always complimented each other and stood by our sides through all the troubles in our lives. She matters everything to me”, Nick held Judy´s paw, who smiled coyly at him. The sheik and Rajah both smiled too. Even they could see how strong that bond seemed. The sultan had often heard stories about the discrimination towards predators in Zootopia, and was glad to see a loving interspecies couple like this exist after all those troubles. “Why don´t you come in to my humble abode? It´s going to be a big dinner there tonight”, Rajah led them inside. Time passed as the tiger introduced the young couple to his entire palace, from the walls and gardens surrounding it to the treasure chambers full of gold and jewelry as well as his harem with lots of beautiful female mammals in it, from vixens to gazelles and leopards. Nick and Judy had a great time visiting the palace. Later, dinnertime was at hand as sun was setting. Judy went to get prepared for her performance as Nick went to join the party already after changing into his formal wear. He sat down to feast with the other guests, which included dignitaries from Zootopia too. It wasn´t every day he got to share dinner with important mammals like that. “This chicken kebab tastes wonderful”, Nick praised as he started eating. During the meal, he told the sultan stories about his and Judy´s exploits while waiting for the rabbit to appear. “Most fascinating. I´d never expect a meter maid and a hustler to become big heroes in the city like that. Looks like its motto is true after all”, Rajah listened with great interest. “It is. Judy proved me that, and helped my life become what it is now. I´m still thankful to her for all that”, Nick drunk from his glass. “I have never seen such an inseparable duo in my life either. I hope they inspire many other mammals in the future to be like them, both as partners and lovers”, the sheik added. More delicious types of food were brought to the table as the feast kept going on. Nick tried them all, from the fruits to even the roasted scorpion. To him, it was much tastier than it looked. Suddenly, a calm and rhytmic tune started playing at the edge of the room. The guests all paused their eating as they could see something interesting was going on. The curtains parted in a dark part of the room only lit by torches. Out of them walked the belly dancer rabbit herself, in her gorgeous coin-trimmed red bra and baggy pants of the same color, with golden jewelry everywhere, a transparent veil on her coyly smiling face and her ears on a ponytail. “Ah, it begins again”, Nick was almost spellbound by his wife´s beauty as she was ready for the dance. Judy had put her best in the game for her first dance before a big monarch like Rajah. Her graceful paw movements and hip bumps did grab his interest too. The sultan was impressed, but Nick was enjoying it even more than he was. She really did have a very fit body for this, and the colors of her outfit fit her fiery personality as well. It was truly a dance worthy of seeing in the finest courts. “She´s incredible. Better than any of the ones in my harem. You weren´t kidding about her skills, Nick. Us predators do have a good eye for beauty”, Rajah chuckled merrily. Nick nodded. For his first meeting with the tiger, he got along very well with him. Shaking her hips and butt, Judy could see that the audience was appreciating the performance, and kept going. She even blew a tiny kiss to Nick during the dance that the other guests could see too. “Well, looks like she still knows who her biggest admirer is”, the sheik of Sahara Square smiled. The sunset outside also gave a glorious shine around the dancer as she kept on swaying her body. Judy almost looked like a magical being in that setting. Of all the times she had danced, this was one of her most beautiful moments. Everybody in the dinner table applauded wildly after Judy was finished. She curtseyed to them, and then joined the dining guests. “Brilliant job, ma`am. You are truly a gifted dancer”, Rajah praised as the rabbit enjoyed a banana. “Thanks. I appreciate all kinds of compliments I get towards my passion”, she responded. After the main courses were over, the guests got to feast on the desserts, which included some tasty-looking pastries. Both Nick and Judy were very fond of them. For her first dance before a major ruler, Judy was satisfied at the result, especially after hearing the praises. Sultan Rajah was a respectable gentleman too, and not at all snooty or full of himself. His palace was surely worth a visit. “Zootopia´s first rabbit belly dancer is truly one of a kind”, he said. Later, as the night was at hand, Judy and Nick were heading back home after bidding farewell to Rajah. They were on the same ship they came to the city on, looking at the stars and the moon during their way home. Luckily the trip across the sea wasn´t all that long. “Such a great place that I wouldn´t mind revisiting someday. And that sultan was such a nice fellow too”, Judy wiped sweat off her forehead. “Indeed. I always love going to faraway lands with you, vacation or otherwise. Wherever you perform, I´ll be there in the front seat”, Nick placed his paw around her. The two looked at each other gently, sharing a peaceful moment there together. Suddenly, Nick remembered something that he pulled out of his pocket. “While you were changing back to your normal clothes in the locker room, Rajah told me that I could pick one item from his treasury to give to you as a souvenir and as a token of your great performance. I chose this, and he agreed that it was a fitting choice too”, Nick showed a golden necklace with a purple gem and a handle that resembled rabbit ears. “Oh, it´s beautiful! Thank you both!” a delighted Judy hugged him. “Glad you liked it. An amazing performance like that deserves to be rewarded”, Nick thought. “Well, if I ´m being honest, the best kind of treasure I can get is you”, the belly dancer bunny kissed him on the snout. With the boat soon leaving the oriental city behind, the loving couple kept kissing on the moonlight with it on the background, creating a very romantic atmosphere. Judy loved dancing before royalty, but to her, Nick was more royal than any of them. The king of her heart. Category:Ara-Bunny Nights AU Category:Stories inspired by 1,001 Nights Category:Fanon Category:Stories Category:WildeHopps stories Category:NickXJudy Category:Nick and Judy's married years